Remotely controlled auxiliary spring suspension



B. WALKER March 4, 1958 REMOTELY CONTROLLED AUXILIARY SPRING SUSPENSION2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 5, 1953 INVENTOR. M 7/ 1 REMOTELY CONTROLLEDAUXILIARY SPRING SUSPENSION Brooks Walker, Piedmont, Calif. ApplicationOctober-5, 1953, Serial No.,384,08 3

i Claims. (Cl. 280-'1 24) This invention pertains. to. auxiliary vehiclesuspension andzimprovementsqtherein. Heretofore, auxiliary springshavebeen. provided; on trucks and somebuses which go into action after.theb'as'iesprings: have been compressed a certain amount. 'Thus, whencarrying a lightload, the

auxiliary springsinterf'erred with normal easy riding and fullyspringactionl -With passenger vehicles of larger ca- .pacity, such asgstation,wagons, air-line limousines, some six-passengerasedahs;buses, pickups,trucks, etc., the

amount of; load carried varies, substantially. Whenlight- :ly loadedalow spring -r-ate;(in pounds perv inchof action) -is;desirable,compared to ar-higher spring rate when the .vehicle is heavily loaded.

7 In my U. S. Patent No. 2,518,733, dated August 15, 1950, one method ofaccomplishing ;.this auxil iary support has been shown- :wherein ;theauxiliary support is. connectable or discon- ;ne cted by the.op e rator.This'invention-pertainsto im ,provements in the design-of such auxiliarysupports which can be more-easilyinstalled on existing-vehicles or builti nto suchvehicles as originallyproduced. It ofierssome economy inweight and eliminates the necessity of 3 transferring the controlfromthe two auxiliary springs up over th egdrive shaft or pinion housing(asshown in said U. S.

' Patent No. 2,51 8 ,733).where the clearance on; some moderna-designsofcarsmay be rather restricted.

.Qne forniof theldesigmasfshown in,this invention,-in-

.volves a cantilever: type of spring, in'wh ich-the lightend shackledtov theairlepermanently, and i the other -endmstead of beinganchored-.is{freeto move without spring resistance when intheinactivepositionand is manually loadedv and mechanically locked intheloadedposition of fthe anxiliarylsprings. By this same constructiominwhich 'atog'gle is'used for loading, ma nual means for actuatingthelsame as througha controlsimilarto a handbrake pull handle operatingthroiigh acable, linkage cannot only eng ge the auxiliary spring whendesired but can also ,eifetsome initialrloading 'of theauxiliary-spring, so that with the nonnalfhe'avier load in 'the vehiclethe rear axle ,to rear. framefclearan'ce, 'willbe maintained more nearly"the; same. in clearaiicegas is true when the vehicle is lightly loaded,

'Qthc'r 'featu'resr'of the inventio'ninclude a means Where.

a coil's'pri'ng which is very, economical of weight for 'thear'noun'tofspring support provided isfcapable of being anchoredtofthe vehicleframe at one end and to alocating lleafat-its lower end, withailinka'g'e that connects or dis- "connects the locating leaf with'the'rearfaxle.

withthe accompanying drawings, wherein:

-;Fig. l isa" side elevation, partly cut away, of a por- {tionofavhicle'sho'wing one"form ofthe invention.

Fig. Z'is 'a 'side'elev'altion, partly injsection andjpartly I ent away,showing'a portion of a vehicle including another Epositio'nlof theinvention," shown in Fig. 1.

' Fig. 3"is'a perspectiveviewnr aportion ofthe'li'nkage F 2,825,578Patented Mar. 1958 of actuation.

In all figures, like numerals of reference refer to the correspondingparts in various drawings.

In Figs. 1 2, and'-3-I have shown a vehicle frame'l tl, a rnbber axlebumper 10a, a rear axle housing 11 carrying a rear axle l lawhich issecured to rear main spring 15 by U -bolts l2 spring bottom plate13,-and" U- bo'lt nuts 14; Shacklefhang er16 carries rear spring shackle1 6a at the rear of mainsupporting spring; 15, while the front endofjthespring'is pivoted to the frame by hanger bolt-17. v A bracket?!)is secured to the frame-which carries overhung'bolt 31,-t0-whicl1 ispivotally mounted-a toggle which includes manuallyoperated upper links 32 and 32b aridlowerlirikfifi. Pin 33 joins-the lower link 36 to theupper toggle links 32 and 32b. The lower end oftoggle-link' 36 ispivotally secured to the car frameltl by'li-nk 38. Spring 3211constantly urges manually controlled link- 32 into the position shown inFig. l'in which the lower link 36 is out of contact with the auxiliaryspring 20. Stop 35li mits the action of toggle link 32. Auxiliary Yspring-'Zflhas an eye at each end of the lower leaf, the

rear eye of whichcarries-the shackle 20a that-links the rear end of theahxiliaryspring to-the rear axle housing 11. The eye at the'front end ofthe mainleaf of the auxiliary spring-20f is pivoted at bolt 25, whichbolt'ziis mounted in spring hanger bracket 26. Spring hanger 35" bracket26 also carries pivotbolt; 3 8aon which drag-link 38 is pivoted so as toguide the'lower-end of toggle 'link 36. A manual control in'the driverscompartment such as handle 42 supported on the instrument panel: 50" bybracket 51 can'be pulled upwardly by 'the driver-so-that notchesAlaengage bracket 51. A cable -40'attached-to a handle 42 passes aroundpulley -46 to-pull on-theflower end of toggle arm 32'which extends 'wellpast-pivot bolt '33 that joins link 32-t0 link36'of the togglesothat-the toggle -can be pulledinto the slightly past center position asshown in Figs. 2 and 3. 'In the position, as shown in Figs. land 3, thestraightening out of the toggle links 33 and 36 causes-auxiliary spring2,0-to become active and actually carries an appreciable load'ifdesired, orby -adjusting the design of the spring 20,-the-location=ofbearing pivot point '25 and the other' re1ated-parts,-the auxiliaryspring can 'just start to pick up load whenthe-toggles 32 and 36 arestraightened out, as shown in 'Figs.-2 and 3. When the rnanual control42 releasesthetension -onc'able 40by disengaging -the notches 41a spring32a retrac'ts the toggleto the positionshown in Fig. 1 when there is anappreciable clearancebetween-the auxiliaryspring 20-and the lowercontact point between the spring 20 and 'the toggle arm 36,- so' thatessentially nosupport is provided by the auxiliary spring 'in'theinactive position, as shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 4 I'ha've shown a difierent construction in which theauxiliaryspr'ingload' is largely carried by coil spring 95"which isanchored to bracket 97 by bolts 98 which secure bracket97 to the vehicleframelll. Thelower end of coil spring 95 is-secured by bracket 99whichmaypreferably screw inside the coil spring to anchor andlojcateit,

"Bracket 99 is secured by" bolts -98 to spring-leai 90,

Spring-leaf is-fastenedtothe frame- 10 just-forwardrof spring hangerbolt17- by bolts-91'or by U-bolts around t'he frame similartothe-construction-shown in Fig. 15. At'the rear end of spring 9% isaneye in whichis @inserted ambber bushing and -a-bolt-92which carrieshook 81. l-l e rubber bushing urges the hook 81 through torsion into anengagement with lug 11b and is retracted by cable 60- to the inactiveauxiliary spring position, as shown in Fig. 4.

When cable is released as by a manual controh such as is shown in Fig,;1 of this application of hyamechanisrn such as is shown inmy issued U.S.'Patei1t No. 2,518,733,

the torsion of thejrubber bushing at bolt z gg 2 9 81 rearwardly toengage lug11b on the-axle A projec- 1 tion or guidelle extends from :lug1, 1I1downwardly.to

near the-bottom oflnuts blwhich secure U-bolt s-12 to tie the axlehousing -11 to 'the' rear springs l s. This guide or guard 11e preventshook 81 from getting caught under the axle when the car is heavilyloadedand 'the tension In-Fig. 5 I have shown a slightly rmodifiedconstruction Q I in which a cantilever type of spring 85 is secured tothe frame by U-b0lt s 70, cross pieces 71, and nuts 72 on the bottomofvehicle frame 10. A bolt 86 is located in the eye at the rear end of themain leaf of spring ,85 and this I carries a' rubber bushing'which urgeshook 80 =rearward ly so as to engage lug 11c which'is attached-to therear axle housing'll. The guide or guard He actsin a similar mannertothat described in connection with He of Fig. 4.

l silient, means" for supporting said vehicle on said strucl- 1 ture,.auxiliary resilient .means operable? into a position toiaid in thesupport of said vehicle' or to render sub- I claim as my invention: f

'1. A vehicle having a frame, 'a body, a drivers com-j partment, wheelsfor supporting said vehiclepa structure on which said wheels rotate,resilient means forsupporting said vehicle on said structure, auxiliaryresilient means carriedby said frame, a shacklelinkage securing one endof said auxiliary: means tosaid structure when inthe load carryingposition,- manual m'eans operable from said drivers' compartment todisconnect said shackle: from said structure, said' auxiliary meansincluding a coil spring secured at" its upperendto' theyehicleframe andsecured at its lower end to anvelement which is at tached'to'the vehicleframe'substantially aheadaof said coil spring, the. rear endfof.saidjelement carrying said shackle.

2. A vehicle said frame, a structure on which said wheelsrotateprestantially no support to saidrvehicle, means 'operable from;

. Cable 60 is secured to hook 80 by'pin 87 and is prefer two" U-bolts,and no auxiliary mounting for the upper; .end of the coil spring isneeded as is the case in Fig. 4.

From the above descriptions it can be seen that various ,designs havebeen provided wherein'an auxiliary spring may be carried by the frame ateither side of the car and can be engaged or become effective as asupporting medium at the will .of the driver. No major crosspiece orinterconnection'be'tween the auxiliary springs is necessary in the formof, a cross shaft, as is shown in my issued Patent;No. 2,5l8,733previously'referred to.: The construction on each side ofthe rear ofthecar or even at V the front wheel suspension onthe vehicle could besimilar or identical, sothat; cables running tothe operating or -fconnecting linkages at eachspring are all that are necessaryr Smallhydraulic cylinders, such as brake cylinders, might also'be used and theentire. systemcould be quite 7 similar to the hydraulic braking systemif that were thought more desirable than the cable linkages shown. Thisconstruction is shown in Fig; 6, in which theactuating rod 60a;isactuated by a fluid actuated cylinder 100 which is connected throughline 101 to a hand or foot operated'pump, such as-is shown in myco-pending applica- ,tion, Ser. N0, i394,244, or; by an engine drivenpump,

such as is described in my pending case Ser. No. 402,532,

7 now PatentNo. 2,743,941, clatedMay 1, 1956. Thepiston of cylinder 100is connected by link 104 to rocker link 103, one endof which is pivotedto the vehicle frame at pivot 102 and the other end is attached'to rod601:. When fluid pressure enters through line 101 rod 60a is pulledbackwards to retract hook or detachabieshackle 81 from engagement'withlug 11b shown on axle 11. The 1 cable linkages from oneside of thevehicle'to the other are in the form of a Y connection from the manualcontrol running to each side of the rear of the car or with a pulley theinside of said' vehicle bodyeffectingsaid change in said; auxiliaryrneans, said auxiliary means including L a coil spring, the top-of saidcoil spring being iisecured t'o said vehicle frame, the bottom of saidcoil springibeirig secured to a locating element, the forward endfofsaidlocating 'elementbeing secured tosaid frame, the rear end of s'aidlocating element carrying a linkage which can be connected ordisconnected with said structure on which said wheels rotate by theoperator of said vehiclebyia manualcontrol. T i M -i 3, A vehicle having.a frame, wheels-for supporting. "said frame,-a' structure on which saidwheels rotate,- r'esilient means for-supporting said vehicle-on said.stnicture, auxiliary resilient .means operable into a position to aidin the support of said vehicle or to render substa ui tially no supportto said vehicle, means operable from the inside offsaid vehicle bodyeffecting said change in 'said auxiliary means, said auxiliary meansincluding a coil spring, thetop of said-coil springbeing'secured to saidvehicleframe, the bottom of said coil spring being secured to 'alocating element, the forward end' of/said 1 locating element beingsecured-to said frame, th e rear.

end of said locating element carrying ajlinkage which can be connectedor-disconnected with said structure on l which said wheels rotate by theoperator ofsaid: vehicle I by a manual control from within said vehicle;j: g ,7 '4. A vehicle having a frame, wheelsforfsupporting said frame, astructure on which said wheelsv rotate,-re-

. silient means forsupporting'said vehicle on saidstructure, auxiliaryresilient meansoperable into a position:

7 stantially no support tosaidyehicle, means operablefrolru the inside"of said vehiclejbody eflecting 'said'change in V f said auxiliary'means,said auxiliary; means includinga' coil spring, the topoffSaid-coilspring beingisecured,to

said vehicle frame, the bottomof'said'coil spring being ,secured ,to .alocating element, the forward endiof said locating. element beingpivoted to said frame,itheIrear; end of said, locating element carrying,a linkage which can'befconne'ctedlor disconnectedwith said structure ong which saidwheels rotate by the operatorofsaid vehicle by'amanualjcontrohisaid control including a handle operable '-by saidQoperator, I

' f ,nerereacas caea in h are r patent having aiframe, wheelsfor-supporting

